Serious yoga injuries, though rare, are on the rise – cbs news

More and more Americans have been taking up yoga in recent years — and their rate of yoga-related injuries has also climbed, a new study finds.

Between 2001 and 2014, almost 30,000 Americans visited the emergency department for yoga-related sprains, fractures or other injuries, according to the report.

However, the study found that the rate of ER-treated injuries increased over time: from about 9.5 for every 100,000 yoga participants in 2001, to 17 per 100,000 in 2014.

Plus, the figures reflect only injuries serious enough to warrant a trip to the emergency department.

Hatha yoga postures There’s no way to count all yoga-related injuries, which would more often be managed in doctors’ offices or left untreated, according to Thomas Swain, one of the study authors.

“Overall, yoga appears relatively safe,” said Swain, a research assistant with the Center for Injury Sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).

Beyond that, there are potential gains, he pointed out. Yoga manly power living Studies have tied yoga to health benefits ranging from lower blood pressure, cholesterol and heart rate, to improvements in depression, anxiety and sleep problems.

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And that, according to McGwin, illustrates one point for people who are looking for an appropriate yoga class: There are different styles of yoga, and it’s important to know whether you’re walking into an intense class packed with advanced poses, or a slower-paced, gentler class.

As yoga becomes more mainstream, some people may approach it with the same “competitive” attitude they have in sports or other types of exercise.

Based on other research, yoga is surging in popularity in the United States. Bikram yoga hawaii kaimuki In 2007, about 5 percent of U.S adults were taking yoga classes; just five years later, that had almost doubled, to 9.5 percent.

Those numbers alone don’t account for the rise in ER-treated injuries though, McGwin noted. Isha yoga center It was the injury rate per 100,000 yoga practitioners that climbed in the current study.

But, Swain said, it’s possible that the bigger pool of yoga participants includes more “inexperienced” people who are walking into classes that may be inappropriate for their abilities.

The findings, published online recently in the Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine, are based on figures from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System. Yoga in pregnancy first trimester The federal database collects information from a sample of 100 U.S. Yoga magazine street hospitals.

The investigators found that sprained joints and muscle strains accounted for 45 percent of the injuries, while fractures accounted for almost 5 percent. Power yoga for weight loss at home videos In many cases, though, the specific diagnosis was not recorded.

Adults older than 65 had the highest injury rate, the findings showed. Restorative yoga poses for neck pain In 2014, they suffered 58 injuries per 100,000 yoga practitioners — more than triple the overall rate of 17 per 100,000.

As in McGwin’s case, some people try yoga on a doctor’s advice. Om yoga hub However, Swain pointed out, it’s not always clear that doctors are fully informed about yoga — including the fact that the content of classes varies widely.

An orthopedic surgeon who was not involved in the study said he routinely sees patients with pain related to flexibility-focused activities like yoga.

Dr. Office yoga Joshua Harris, who is based at Houston Methodist Hospital, focuses on hip issues in younger adults. Vinyasa yoga creative flow sequence Yoga involves a lot of deep hip flexion and rotation — which, Harris said, can create pain for people who (usually unknowingly) have a hip “impingement” due to the shape and structure of the bones that make up the hip socket.

“My advice to people is to start slow, don’t push too hard, and find a good instructor who emphasizes proper form and technique,” Harris said.

He agreed with McGwin that mindset is important, too. Power yoga video free If some other people in class can twist themselves into pretzels, Harris said, recognize that they are the unusual ones.

According to McGwin and Swain, safety might also be improved if national standards were set for the many programs across the United States that certify yoga instructors.